Races

Humans: Humans are the only race permitted access to kits. Other races have significant racial abilities already and kits level the playing field.

Infravision: Any race with infravision instead has low-light vision.

Classes

Warriors

Permitted Classes: Fighter, Barbarian (Frontiersman), Paladin

When a fighter reaches 9th level he may choose one of the following benefits:

The fighter may establish a fortress in the wilderness, extending the reach of civilization further into unknown territories. Once complete the fighter attracts followers as per the PHB.

The fighter may establish a fighting academy within a major urban center. This academy attracts 4d6 1st level fighters who seek to learn from a master swordsman. Each of these students pays the fighter 1 gp per fighter level each month.

The barbarian class from the Barbarian’s Handbook is available. Europeans can take this class and are referred to as Frontiersmen.

Rangers are not permitted.

Priests

Classes: Cleric (Christian), Diabolist (Satanist-NPC only), Shaman

Clerics represent Christian priests.

Clerics are prohibited from using their magic (God’s power) to harm a sentient creature who is not an enemy of God. However, they are required to destroy Diabolists whether by physical or divine force. This prohibition applies to preachers as well.

Clerics possess to power to channel divine energy in far more potent ways than do normal AD&D clerics. The cleric’s turn undead ability also turns all creatures from another plane of existence and acts as a dispel magic as if cast by the cleric. A cleric can only attempt to dispel a specific magical affect once per level.

Clerics may wield any weapon, they are not limited to bludgeoning weapons.

Combat

If the maximum result is rolled on a damage die roll again and add to the total.

Repeat until maximum damage is not rolled.

Critical Hits

If a natural 20 is rolled on an attack roll (or 19 for some weapons) the struck creature must roll a saving throw vs. death magic. Failure results in a critical hit.

Critical hits are rolled on the table in the Combat & Tactics. Each weapon has its own critical damage die.

Kits

Kits permitted from the Complete Paladin’s Handbook:

Fighters: Chevalier, Militarist

Kits permitted from the Complete Bard’s Handbook:

Dabblers: Charlatan, Herald, Loremaster, Professor, Riddlemaster

Preachers: True Bard, Chanter, Herald, Professor, Skald, Whistler

Thief: True Bard, Blade, Chanter, Charlatan, Gallant, Gypsy (no psionics), Herald, Jongleur, Professor, Skald, Thespian. Thieves who take a bard kit must sacrifice one thief skill for each special ability they receive. The thief may select from 0 to 4 kit special abilities.

Magic

Unfettered Blades is a lower-magic setting than the D&D standard. As a consequence:

Spells cast at standard casting time count as one level higher. These spells are runes, carving a rune requires the same amount of time normally required to memorize a spell.

Spells may also be cast as a ritual at no level adjustment. Rituals bump up the time required to cast by one increment: segments become rounds, rounds become turns, turns become hours, hours become days, etc.